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Issued: December 29, 2007

VITERBO DOWNS MARIAN FOR THIRD IN EAU CLAIRE CLASSIC

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Viterbo University snapped a four-game losing streak with a convincing 80-60 triumph over Marian College in the third-place game of the 39th annual Eau Claire Holiday Classic at the W. L. Zorn Arena Saturday night.

Both teams were coming off close losses in the first round of the tournament as Viterbo dropped an 86-83 decision to Jamestown College of North Dakota while Marian was edged in overtime by UW-Eau Claire, 79-78, Friday.

Viterbo jumped to a 13-3 lead in the first 6:15 of the game and increased that to 18 at 34-16 with 6:01 remaining in the half. After settling for a 14-point lead at the intermission (39-25), Viterbo got back to an 18-point advantage early in the second half. But Marian slowly mounted a comeback, going on a 10-2 run to trim its deficit to 10 (47-37) at the 14:22 mark. Eventually, the Sabres were within seven at 59-52 with 7:16 to go. But Viterbo regained control and slowly moved the margin to its game-high 20 at the final buzzer.

Viterbo utilized its quickness to force 23 Marian turnovers which it turned into a 29-10 scoring advantage, including 16-0 on fast break points. The V-Hawks also got inside, holding a 34-22 edge on points in the paint. That allowed Viterbo to convert 51 percent of its shots. The V-Hawks were also sharp from beyond the arc, converting 8 of 14 attempts, and also dropped in 18 of 25 free throws.

Bardney Cornelius led Viterbo, which improved to 5-10 on the season, with 17 points while Eric Ambrose contributed 14 points, Ryan Ambrose 12 and Scott Buschman 10.

Marian also had four in double figures but the best was Jordan Van Ess with 12. Kevin Hudak, Jerid Holewinski and Joe Horsch each tallied 10.

The loss dropped Marian to 6-4 on the season.

Viterbo-Marian Box Score

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